Global Payments 17% Following $24.25 Bln Deal To Acquire Worldpay

(RTTNews) - Global Payments Inc.'s (GPN) shares plunged 16.87 percent to $69.93 during Thursday's trading after announcing a $24.25 billion deal to acquire Worldpay from GTCR and FIS.

The stock opened at $75.26 and traded between $68.49 and $76.72 on the New York Stock Exchange. Volume spiked to over 8 million shares, far above the daily average of 2.5 million. Shares now sit at the bottom of their 52-week range of $68.49 to $127.66.

As part of the transaction, FIS will also acquire Global Payments' Issuer Solutions business for $13.5 billion. The market reaction likely reflects investor concerns over the complexity and scale of the three-way transaction, which includes a mix of cash and stock and will result in GTCR owning 15 percent of Global Payments.